Overcaps or covers for aerosol dispensers first came into common usage in order to provide an improved ornamental appearance for the product, but in recent years have been extensively modified and improved for safety reasons. More specifically, because of the poisonous or harmful nature of many chemical products being dispensed from commercial aerosol dispensers, legal requirements have been imposed with the objective of making these products safe for small children. Specifically, many aerosol dispensers now incorporate the single-finger entry principle such as that shown in the Corll U.S. Pat. No. 3,712,515 in order to make it possible for the dispensing valve mechanism to be actuated by the finger of an adult user but not to be actuated by the finger of a very small child.
In such child-safe aerosol dispensers the usual approach is for the dispensing nozzle to be wholly contained within the safety cap of the container.
When using a safety cap, permitting the nozzle to project beyond the confines of the safety cap would inherently create a risk that pressure could be applied to the nozzle as a means of actuating the dispensing valve. Such a result would entirely defeat the purposes of the safety cap.
The object and purpose of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a safety cap for an aerosol dispenser which is equipped with a nozzle that projects beyond the confines of the safety cap, but without endangering the child-safe nature of the device.